01/02/2026
BREAKING! Soludo Dragged to Court Over Illegal Shutdown of Onitsha Market, To Pay N2Billion Damages to Traders
Human rights lawyer, Barrister Ikechukwu Obasi, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against the Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, the Attorney General of Anambra State, the Commissioner of Police of Anambra State, and the Inspector General of Police.
The suit is over the closure of the Onitsha Main Market and other markets in the state over traders’ continued observance of Monday sit-at-home.
In the suit he filed under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, Obasi argued that the closure of the markets violated the traders’ fundamental rights, including personal liberty, freedom from forced labour, human dignity, freedom of movement, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, right to privacy, economic development, and freedom of expression, as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (CAP A9) 2011.
Obasi, who is representing the traders of Onitsha in a public interest litigation, said he became aware of the dispute after coming across a viral video where Governor Soludo directed that markets in Onitsha and across the state must be opened from Monday to Saturday, with the warning that traders who fail to comply should leave the state.
"Markets are open Monday to Saturday. If you are not prepared to open your shops Monday to Saturday, then leave Anambra, go elsewhere; period,” Soludo had said during an unscheduled visit to Onitsha Main Market on Monday, January 26, 2026.
“So, this market will be shut down for the remainder of this week. It will not be opened tomorrow, it will not be opened on Wednesday, it will not be opened on Thursday, it will not be opened on Friday. It will open again on Monday," the governor added.
In the suit he filed on January 28, 2026,
